It's You, Neville
by HP Slash Luv
Summary: Neville has to deal with being part Veela. And Harry just wants to tell Neville how he feels.


**Written For:**

**Quidditch Fanfiction League Competition: **Falcons - Round 11  
Keeper - A character discovers they are/is discovered to be part creature (Restriction: not Fleur, Gabrielle, or Remus)

**Hogwarts: **365 Prompts  
Prompt - prayer

Betaed by my fabulous teammate Elizabeth.

**It's You, Neville**

"Neville!" Hannah screamed.

He looked up from his Herbology textbook, fearful eyes finding the source of the yell. He stood up and quickly raced out of the courtyard, holding the book tightly so as not to drop it.

"Wait, please!" Hannah yelled from behind him.

Neville quickened his pace.

He ran by Theo Nott. "Looking good, Nev. We should hook up later!" he hollered.

Neville rolled his eyes in annoyance. Lately, everyone had gone crazy.

X

Harry stared at the Marauder's map. Everyone in Gryffindor was looking for Neville. They always saw him in class, but no one had seen him outside of class the last few days.

The first spot he checked on the map was the greenhouses. There were some dots, but none of them were labeled 'Neville.' There was an unusual number of girls in that area, though.

"Looking for Neville?" a knowing voice asked.

Harry thought about lying, but what would the point be? Hermione knew everything anyway. "He seems to always disappear outside of class."

"He's not used to being the center of attention. I think he might be a bit scared of the swooning that has been going on," Hermione said with a slight laugh. She wasn't making fun of Neville, but she found his embarrassment kind of cute.

Harry sighed in frustration, crinkling the map as his grip on it tightened. "I'm so mad about that. He's gone virtually unnoticed since their first year. The only time people have noticed him was to make fun of him. And now that it has become known that he's a Veela, people suddenly want him. It's disgusting."

"Tell me how you really feel," Hermione joked. With a laugh in her voice, she continued, "To be fair, a Veela's allure only activates once a witch or wizard reaches maturity."

Harry glared at his best friend. "So what? Whether he's a Veela or not shouldn't make any difference. He's the same person he has always been: sweet, funny, loyal, brave, and the list goes on. And when I'm finally getting up the courage…" He trailed off with a blush as he once again focused on the map.

"You can still tell him how you feel," Hermione gently encouraged.

"He'll think I'm just like the rest of them."

"No, he won't," she refuted. "Neville knows better. You've never become a weak-minded idiot around a Veela."

Harry's eyes finally zeroed in on Neville's dot. "I can't."

"Well, it is your choice. You can stay here and be scared to tell him the truth, or you can act like a Gryffindor and take a chance. Up to you."

"Hermione," Harry groaned.

"Choice is yours," she sing-songed.

What was Harry going to do?

X

Neville muttered a quick prayer to anyone who might be listening up there. He needed a rescue. He had been running for what felt like forever, but there were still people chasing him. Weren't they going to give up? He wasn't that much of a catch.

"You're so cute! I want you so much!" Terry yelled.

Neville cringed. Terry was nice looking, but when he imagined himself dating anyone from Hogwarts, Terry was never in his fantasy.

Suddenly, hands shot out from some room and grabbed his arm, dragging him inside and shutting the door.

Before Neville could scream in panic, fearing his virtue might be compromised, a familiar voice whispered, "Shh, it's me."

Neville relaxed. "Thank Merlin." Neville knew he could trust Harry. Harry was one of the very few people that still acted normal around him. It was a relief after the craziness of everyone else. He looked around and noticed a couple of brooms against the back wall. "If I wasn't so close to graduating, I'd transfer."

Harry laughed quietly. "Don't really blame you."

"I've gotten a taste of what you've been through since you were eleven. I don't understand how you're still sane."

"I think you've had it worse. I never had people swooning over me or trying to possess me, except maybe Ginny and Romilda Vane. Trust me, if I had to deal with this on a daily basis, I wouldn't have survived."

Neville finally turned around. "How did you find me?"

"I have my ways," Harry mysteriously stated, a cute eyebrow wiggle deployed for effect.

Harry sat down on the ground. "We should wait a bit, make sure the coast is clear before we get out of here."

Neville's heart fluttered as he sat down as well. He could think about worse ways to spend his time than in a broom closet with Harry.

"So…" Harry began.

Neville tilted his head. "You okay?"

"Hermione said I should just be a Gryffindor about it, but it's so hard."

"What is?"

Harry stared at the ground. "I'm better at actions than words. Hermione is the word type; I'm the action type."

"Okay, I guess." Neville was very confused.

Harry looked up and leaned over, pressing his lips against Neville's in a quick but firm kiss. Neville's eyes were wide when Harry pulled back. "And it's not just because you're a Veela. I had been planning to tell you this year, but then your heritage became known, and it got complicated. I'm not like _them_." He gestured to outside of the closet. "I don't care that you're a Veela. Frankly, I'd much rather you not be a Veela, if I'm perfectly honest. It's more competition for me. Can't change that, though. What I care about is you as a person. Just you."

Neville blinked. "You lied."

Harry reared back as if had been slapped. "I _never_ lie," he defended himself.

Neville's heart hammered like a staccato drum. "You're pretty good with words. In fact, I think you could probably give Hermione a run for her money."

Harry laughed. "I'm not expecting anything from this impromptu confession, but I need you to know how I feel."

Neville took Harry's hand. "You've always seen me for me."

"Goes both ways," Harry whispered.

This was a dream come true. In fact, Neville feared he was actually sleeping. "I've never really had a boyfriend."

"I haven't either. With a Dark Lord to defeat, it was kind of hard to date."

"We should take it slow," Neville said.

"Totally agree." Harry nodded his head, a hopeful smile on his lips. He frowned. "Is kissing out of the question, then?"

"Definitely not. We can kiss and still take it slow." Even after only one quick kiss, Neville couldn't imagine no kissing.

"Good," Harry breathed. He leaned forward slowly, and this time, Neville met him in the middle. And this time, the kiss felt like a promise.

XX

(word count: 1,105)


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